Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1054 Nothing tastes better than dumplings
In addition to Poland itself, Wang Fuzhi also thought of Sweden, a powerful country in Europe today.

Compared with Poland, Sweden is now in its heyday. At the end of the Thirty Years' War in Europe, France and Sweden became the final winners, and the signing of the treaty ending the war also made Sweden's national strength unprecedentedly strong.

This time in Europe, in addition to diplomacy with Poland, there is also diplomatic cooperation with Sweden. Even if he cannot get what he wants from Poland, getting it from Sweden later can also meet his needs. After the change of mentality, Wang Fuzhi no longer worried about it and handled diplomatic affairs in Poland with peace of mind. On the one hand, he continued to discuss the implementation of subsequent cooperation with Władysław IV, and on the other hand, he frequently met with Polish nobles and won over members of the Polish Parliament to gain the favor and support of these groups.

In this regard, the Chinese have a natural advantage, as the Ming Empire was the most powerful country in the world. The mysterious and prosperous Eastern country has always been longed for and envied by the Western world, and the arrival of Wang Fuzhi and his entourage also set off a "Chinese style" in Warsaw, which made many nobles and princes have a strong interest in Eastern culture.

During his stay in Warsaw, Wang Fuzhi also hosted several banquets as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, inviting members of the Polish royal family including Władysław IV, Polish nobles of all ranks, and even bishops of the church.

Wang Fuzhi impressed the European nobles with his elegant demeanor, profound knowledge and Chinese etiquette. In addition, the various exquisite gifts he brought from the Ming Dynasty made the participants in the banquet amazed. In addition to these, Chinese food also opened their eyes and satisfied their appetites.

Compared to the Chinese, European food is not up to par at all. In the whole of Europe, only France and Italy can barely come up with good food. French food is extremely famous in Europe. As for Italy, this may be because Marco Polo once visited China during the Yuan Dynasty and brought back some Chinese food, which was improved and became Italian food, thus enjoying a good reputation in hundreds of years of development.

But whether it is France or Italy, their food is exquisite, but it is far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the use of condiments and spices in Europe is not perfect, and the cooking methods are relatively simple. In terms of the range and variety of food, the Ming Dynasty is second to none in the world, and no country can compare.

Not to mention Poland, which is located in eastern Europe. Even the king and nobles find it difficult to taste French and Italian delicacies on a daily basis. The dazzling array of Chinese delicacies is simply an eye-opener for them. Tasting these exquisite foods, they feel unprecedented stimulation and enjoyment on their taste buds. They all praise the beauty of these delicacies and are intoxicated by the stories behind the delicacies.

Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui secretly laughed at these people's reactions. In fact, most of the delicacies they brought out to entertain the guests were just ordinary dishes. After all, they were only on a diplomatic mission to Europe and not here to show off. Although there were chefs in the delegation, these chefs were not considered real chefs in the Ming Dynasty. Not to mention compared with the imperial chefs in the palace, even some old-fashioned chefs were slightly inferior to them and their cooking skills could only be considered mediocre.

Moreover, the food in Europe was slightly different from that in the Ming Dynasty, especially the seasonings were too simple. Many seasonings were common in the Ming Dynasty, but could not be found in Europe. They had almost used up what they brought with them before they set out, so when they held the banquet, the chefs could only cook according to local conditions and use local food and seasonings. In this case, some better dishes could not be prepared at all, and they just made some ordinary dishes to fool these people.

Even so, these nobles were pleasantly surprised. During the banquet, many nobles even asked about the cooking methods of these dishes regardless of their status. Wang Fuzhi naturally tried his best to meet their small requests. Unfortunately, many dishes were cooked differently from those in Europe, so it was difficult for them to understand the essence of them. In the end, these nobles were confused and did not learn anything at all. It was a pity.

But there was one food that they learned to cook because it was simple to make. This food was none other than dumplings, one of the staple foods prepared by Wang Fuzhi when entertaining guests. After tasting the deliciousness and convenience of the dumplings, they asked about the preparation method. Many nobles' eyes suddenly lit up, thinking that this food was simple and easy to make, wasn't it just right?

In this way, Wang Fuzhi himself did not expect that he would leave behind the method of making dumplings after his visit to Poland. After they left Poland, dumplings quickly became popular among the entire Polish aristocracy, and because of the nobles' pursuit, they gradually spread and gradually became a new food in Warsaw and the whole of Poland.

Because dumplings are easy to make and have the aura of oriental cuisine, they are highly praised by the locals. Over time, the Poles made many adjustments to the original ingredients of the dumplings according to their own tastes, and eventually came up with a new type of dumplings with various fruits as dumpling fillings and cheese as a dipping sauce. After decades, this type of dumplings has become a favorite food of every Polish person and a specialty of Poland, passed down from generation to generation, but not many people know its true origin.

While Wang Fuzhi and his colleagues were working hard for their mission, Charles II, who came to Poland with them, was also not idle.

This young man had great energy and had become acquainted with Wang Fuzhi and others on the way to Poland. Although he was the King of England, he had suffered a lot because of his life experience. Moreover, as a king, he could not even return to his own country. After experiencing a great change in his life, Charles II did not sink, but remained cheerful, which was not easy. Charles II got on the mission through his father-in-law, King John IV of Portugal, but his real intention was not to travel around Europe with the mission, nor to take his newlywed wife Princess Catarina on a honeymoon. His real purpose was to take advantage of the mission to visit the royal families of various European countries, hoping to gain support from these royal families, so as to take back his throne with the power of these countries and return to England to become a real king.

Unfortunately, Charles II's plan was doomed to fail. The systems of European countries meant that the royal power of each country was not as centralized as that of the Ming Dynasty. Even the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty was suppressed by the civil service group, let alone in Europe?
In addition, for religious reasons, Britain is a Protestant country. Although the power of Catholicism in Europe was weakened after the end of the Thirty Years' War and Protestantism gained a certain voice, the strength of the church is still very strong in most countries, and its influence on the royal families of various countries is also not small.

In addition, there is the current actual situation in the UK. The current ruler of the UK is Lord Protector Cromwell. Although Charles II is the King of England, he is just an exiled king who has no power and cannot even return to his country.

There are many similar situations in European royal families. Everyone can see the pros and cons of offending the powerful Cromwell because of helping an exiled king. This is also the reason why Charles II was not welcomed by France when he was wandering in France before. He even had trouble eating and had no place to sleep at night and could only climb trees to take a nap.

France had such an attitude, not to mention the royal families of other countries. Except for King John IV of Portugal, who was willing to marry his daughter to Charles II for the sake of Spain, no one took this king seriously.

Along the way, Charles II met many princes and nobles from various countries with Wang Fuzhi, and he also made some efforts, but no one was willing to lend a hand to him, which made Charles II very frustrated. Reality dealt him a heavy blow and made him extremely disappointed, but Charles II did not become depressed. Although he hit a wall again and again, he forced himself to laugh again and again, trying to continue looking for the European royal family who could help him and fulfill his long-cherished wish.

On this afternoon, Zheng Hongkui came back from outside. Since he got the promise from the Polish royal family, he and Wang Fuzhi divided the work. Wang Fuzhi continued to discuss the details of the follow-up cooperation with the Polish royal family, and at the same time tried to win over the members of the Polish Parliament and nobles to gain their support. Zheng Hongkui, as the deputy envoy of the mission, also had a heavy task. He was not only responsible for recruiting craftsmen but also inspecting the Polish navy. In addition, he was responsible for the construction of the embassy in Warsaw. Although the embassy had promised that the Ming Dynasty mission did not need to build it, and everything would be the responsibility of the Polish side, such a major event must be followed up, and Zheng Hongkui was busy on both sides.

After returning to his residence, Zheng Hongkui changed his clothes, washed his face and went to the living room. After a busy day outside, he had a simple lunch. The Polish food was not to his taste. Although there was a lot of meat, it was okay to eat it once or twice with the cooking level of the other party, but it would be greasy if he ate too much. Moreover, the hard bread and other things in Europe did not suit his eating habits. He could barely fill his stomach when he was hungry, but he could not bear to eat it all the time.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?" The cook of the delegation, who knew his habits well, came to ask upon learning that he had returned.

"Is there anything to eat?" Zheng Hongkui asked directly.

"Bread, noodles, mutton soup, and dumplings. How about I fry two side dishes for you, but you'll have to wait for half an hour."

"Don't bother so much. Just give me a bowl of noodles. Use mutton soup as the noodle soup and fry two eggs. We can deal with the rest when Lord Wang comes back in the evening." Zheng Hongkui waved his hand and the cook responded quickly. When he was about to leave, Charles II appeared out of nowhere and said with a smile, "Please help me get a bowl too. I'm a little hungry."

The cook subconsciously looked at Zheng Hongkui, and seeing that Zheng Hongkui didn't care, he responded and turned away. Charles II didn't consider himself a guest, and sat down in front of Zheng Hongkui, saying with a smile: "Your food in Daming is really good. I have been enjoying a feast with you these days. Your Excellency, do you mind if I taste the food with you?"

(End of this chapter)